Meta plans to publish an open letter in newspapers Thursday urging its rivals to voluntarily restrict kids’ access to their apps, spinning an $18 billion settlement compelling it to do so as a “new industry standard” it pioneered.The social media company on Wednesday settled a federal trial brought by 29 states alleging its products, including Facebook and Instagram, intentionally addicted children to harmful content and knowingly harvested their personal data in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.As penance — and even as it denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement — Meta will limit teenagers’ use to two hours a day, cut off usage from midnight to 6 a.m., and disable push notifications during common school hours.In its letter tomorrow, Meta plans to ask TikTok and YouTube to follow along.According to New York Times reporter Mike Isaac, the full-page ad will run in The New York Times, The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times.Meta is going full bore with pushing other companies to add the same restrictions it will add to its apps as a part of settlement:Meta plans to run this copy as a full page print advertisement in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and the New York Times tomorrow morning pic.twitter.com/azsG02P6LA— rat king 🐀 (@MikeIsaac) August 26, 2026“We want to ensure teens benefit from this new industry standard, but we cannot do it alone,” reads an advance copy of the letter obtained by Isaac. “These protections will only be truly effective if we work with our peers — TikTok and YouTube — to put the same measures in place.”“All platforms should empower parents and support teens in these ways because we know that when teens are restricted on one app, they simply move to another,” it concludes. “For meaningful progress to happen, we urge our peers to join us.”